This has no sugar added -- a great quality in a pasta sauce -- but it still tastes a bit sweet to me. The texture is also oddly frothy, like gazpacho! Maybe that's the "kettle" line's bit, I'm not sure. The taste is indeed garliccy, and I like the transparent ingredients (all the spices are listed by name, no nebulous "spices" category), but sadly it's not really doing it for me as a pasta sauce.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
Ho hum. I usually like fruit snacks, but these are no Motts. The idea of a gusher-y snack is appealing, but these don't gush at all, they only dribble if you suckle. Not great! I do like that there are different shapes in different flavors, but they aren't super identifiable. The one I think is blueberry is yellow and tastes like laundry, but it is unique. The others are mainly vague berry and the texture is too chewy. Obviously I eat them but I don't love it or even really like it that much.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10
I had a good impression of Dare because they make or made nut-free cookies! But it turns out that was Canadian Dare, I think. These say nothing about being nut-free, and they have a may contain sesame warning. They also have soy in Canada but not in the US. So allergy wise it's not amazing, although I still consider it safe. But, these aren't that good. They basically taste like big saltines. Very bland. I prefer a wheat thin or a Pep Farm Harvest wheat, which is what I thought these would be given the color and ingredients. So these are just a meh cracker with minor fear; not worth it when there exist other crackers which are better.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10
Mm, candy! Should I be eating candy when my body is broken? Probs no, but my body is always broken, so I want candy, and frankly, deserve it. (IDK). Anyway, these are tasty! They were bigger than I expected (bigger than a cadbury egg, more like a whopper egg), with a cadbury-type candy coating, but a bit thicker. The inside is what I assume to be normal hershey's chocolate, but less creamy (or just less melty?), which actually works well. It's basically a big cadbury candy coated egg, but with no maltiness or whatever that unique flavor they have is. And I don't miss that note too much! Yum!
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10
A fun new drink in a can! But, a weird one. It does have an apple taste and a tea taste, so the branding is accurate. The fact that it's sparkling is throwing me a little bit. And there's no coffee taste, which I guess makes sense because it's made of coffee Leaf and Leaf = tea vibes. It makes me a little nervous in the throat, but I did drink the whole can and no death was imminent. But tea always feels a little weird and drying, right!? Anyway, I would rather just drink some unflavored real tea, or coffee. It does smell like fresh apple juice which is a nice smell, but the taste is just not quite what I want. I did order another one like a dork though, so maybe I didn't hate it all that much.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10
These strudels are really vexing me! The filling tastes both medicinal and artificial, just like the cherry flavor! Even though it's got real strawberry juice in! Not good vibes. Also still so sticky and messy to eat, which is a personal peeve of mine. But at least these ones aren't expired (I checked before buying this time), and the frosting and pastry itself are good. I am really awaiting a non red-fruit flavor now!
Overall
Cost: 5/10 [4$ish]
Taste: 6/10
The week long heat warning in my area finally ends tonight... I have a doctor's appointment this week.... trying to cultivate "hope"... This wine didn't help, though. It's supposed to be aged 2 years, which it was, but the taste just wasn't my favorite kind of red. This was my first "Dolcetto", which is a cute name (little sweet?) but the flavor was Big Body & a Little Old. Mild rancid vibes. Sweet, yes, more merlot(?) than cab. No bite. I also got a face rash soon after drinking this last night, although that might be an unrelated heat-skin reaction??, but it put me on edge. Then again, it's just wine, so cheer up! My inner monologue needs some work. Also, the recipe sounds great but I'm still not up to it. The song was "meh". Save me, doctor! For the sake of my dear readers! ☺
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10
These are fine! I admit, I'm conditioned to the white wheat pastas, so it's not as pleasurable to eat these, but elbows are a great quick-to-cook shape and the taste is perfectly fine, just more complex. More fruity, as discussed previously. Once I have these more, I'll acclimate, and they do have more fiber and no rogue legumes, so I do like them. I do!
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
More like Toaster Boo-del! (I originally considered Toaster Poo-del but thought that was a little too harsh.) This flavor is whack. Also, the freezer aisle was super crowded so I bought these without my usual ingredient/expiry check, and while I'm not allergic, they were expired!! My store sucks. But I ate them anyway due to Sunk Cost Fallacy and also my parents would say "omg it's frozen, they're FIIINE". But they were not fiiine. I mean, they didn't make me ill(er), but I think it's not just in my head that the pastry felt old, less flaky, stale. What's more, and what's assumedly not oldness related, the filling is surprisingly distinct from the raspberry flavor -- in a bad way. It's bright red, and not fruity, more medicinal. I do not love it. It's edible, but not worth the bad nutrition. Where are you, apple?
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10
I'm sure this winery isn't called "Santiago", but who knows what it is. This is pretty nice. Sweet, not too fruity (mainly pear notes), not too acidic. I did get frustrated at the little logos on the back because they're too small for me to read (right now?) and seem relevant to allergy stuff, but whatever. Cute bottle otherwise, like rum. There was a little bit of a weird flavor note to me at first -- like bread or cheese or deli meat (??), but I stopped noticing it soon enough. The recipe pairing looks really good and doable, but I still can hardly make cereal without passing out, so it's another tragic no go. But the wine is good!
Overall
Cost: 5/10 [16$]
Taste: 7/10
The horrors persist, but so does toaster strudel! I can't believe I haven't reviewed a single flavor yet. They are wildly inconvenient compared to a pop-tart -- you have to toast them, usually twice, the icing packet is so hard to open without tearing, it's very sticky, and sometimes burnt. But they also taste way better! It's a pastry! (A strudel, I'm not so sure). The taste hasn't changed a bit since I was a kid, and the frosting and pastry are really good. The filling here isn't my favorite flavor (I guess I like apple best? We'll find out, maybe) but it's serviceable. Sticky though.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10
I generally like Australian wines, although I'm not sure why. Maybe it's just the cultural familiarity (to NZ (which has good allergy policy) ). Anyway, I'm still doing terribly health-wise, plus there's an infestation in my kitchen that I'm unable to deal with, so it was a sad no-go on the lamby recipe pairing (which I'm sure is tasty). Maybe someday!
The bottle actually doesn't say "red blend" like this picture; instead it lists the three grapes, which is maybe better anyway. The taste does indeed have a lot of "body"; spicy, tobacco-y, all that. Smells like a pleasant red, though. Maybe better after a bit of a sit. Gotta let it breathe like in the movies! But yeah, solid to sip, horrible to chug (not that I ever chug a wine, but you know what I mean).
Overall
Cost: 5/10 [17$]
Taste: 6/10
It does occur to me that my latest health debacle is highly correlated with an increase in Haribo consumption, but I don't think it's causative. Maybe. Anyway, these look not cute (what is this mascot even?) but they are in my Haribo top tier. That's mainly due to their shape, which is thin and therefore not (as) firm!! The sour coating is also a good tangy quality. And a serving is 25! Why, that's 1/5 of a unicorn. Anyway, there's 4 distinct flavors here:
Purple aka strawberry: this tastes a little bit like medicine. But I do like the thin sourness nevertheless. 6/10
Blue aka blueberry: Now this really tastes like those fantastical sour blue dolphins of my youth. I like it! 7/10
Pink aka watermelon: It's OK. Not medicinal, but watermelon is never my favorite candy flavor. 6/10
Green aka apple: I thought these were rare but it was just dark in my room! This is the sweetest one and therefore least sour, which is annoying because sour is the whole vibe. Luckily if you eat enough they all blend together and you might think it's blue. 6/10
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10
After one+ month of constant dizziness, blurry vision, decreased cognitive ability, and nausea, parents say "why don't you just drink some alcohol to see if it helps?". I recognize that this is an absurd question, because alcohol helps with nothing physical and only temporarily mental (sometimes), but I like alcohol so I took their advice (to a super low-key extent of the teeniest portion your girl ever portioned). It did not help, but it did not really make things worse in a way I can perceive, at least. Long story short, this is a wine and I like wine. But it doesn't have mythical powers. Sad!
Flavor-wise, it's a typical fruity bouquet of white melon, sweet and tart, acidic with a strong bite. Tingly. I think I prefer reds for peace of mind, but it's refreshing and also wine. The food pairing sounds tasty and safe but I'm not up for shopping or cooking, so I sadly have to skip it. The song pairing of "Let It Go" is rude. Hope you're doing better than I am, dear blog reader!
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
One thing I really like about Cape Cod chips is that their website says explicitly that they don't use any nuts. That's a huge relief and makes me want to love them! But I am sad to report that these are just not my favorite chip. They are adequate at best. The crunch and texture are good, but the flavor is weird, and reminiscent of Lays or mealy old oil. I wish things were different, but they're just not the chip of my dreams.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10
These are super frustrating to eat because they're totally melted! I don't know if it's because my house is 80+ degrees (which isn't THAT hot) or if it's because the inside is a goo ("creme") and the chocolate coating is so thin, but it's messy and not as good as it could be. So it's hard to gauge the taste, given that. They basically seem like a mass of chocolate frosting, with tiny crunchy sprinkles in it. It's tasty but hard to consume and hardly a hershey kiss at that point! I'm gonna try putting them in the fridge and seeing how that goes.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10
